The Library is a major resource for those working on the Commonwealth as a whole, or on any of its member states, in the fields of history, politics and international relations, agriculture, education, the environment, and social questions.

Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Americas through a lens - National Archives photographs

You can now view hundreds of Americas photos from the National Archives CO 1069 collection online. They capture scenes from Canada to Belize, Trinidad to the South Shetland Isles, and span more than 100 years.

The images are from the Colonial Office's Photographic Collection and include some of the earliest known photographic depictions of Canada dating back to the 1850s. Some of the images have accompanying background information to give them context, but many do not.

The photographs have been uploaded to the photo-sharing website Flickr so that you can tag and contribute comments and suggestions to help improve the descriptions.

The latest online release of pictures from the Colonial Office collection follows the successful launch last year of Africa through a lens - an online showcase for the African images in the collection. The project was inspired by Project Naming, a Library and Archives Canada (LAC) initiative to help identify Inuit portrayed in its own photographic collection.